A Frenchman who was held captive with murdered American journalist James Foley for months said today he has a ‘rough’ idea who his executioner is.

Didier Francois said a video of the suspected British jihadist stirred painful memories of being chained up in the dark with Mr Foley and other ISIS hostages in Syria.

It came as a former MI6 chief said the British jihadist will be identified and the SAS will be sent to Syria to 'bring him to justice'.

The suspect accused of murdering the reporter has been named as 'John' - one of a gang of British jihadis known as ‘The Beatles’ who are guarding western hostages for ISIS.

Mr Francois, a 53-year-old reporter with radio station Europe 1, said: ‘Recognised is a very big word, but I see roughly who it is.’

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Manhunt: The face of the masked British killer from the IS video, who Didier Francois, a Frenchman held captive by him and pictured on his release in April, says has a 'rough' idea of who he is

For two-and-a-half months, Mr Francois was chained to fellow French hostages, Nicolas Henin, Edouard Elias, and Pierre Torres. They were released in April after France paid a ransom.

Mr Henin said today that Mr Foley was beaten more than any other hostage because he was an American and ISIS knew his brother was in the U.S. Air Force, and in one incident he was 'crucified against a wall', it has emerged.

The killer spoke in a distinctive English accent and his eyes and build are clearly visible in a propaganda video in which he cuts Mr Foley’s head off.

Mr Francois spent eight months with Mr Foley as a captive in Syria, enduring most of that time in underground cells with no natural light.

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Mr Francois said he had never spoken publicly about James Foley or the remaining American hostage, Steven Sotloff, before because of threats of reprisals.

Mr Francois said he was told by his captors: ‘If you make public the fact they are being held or that you were together, reprisals will follow against them. Their exact words were: “They’ll be punished”’.

Mr Foley had been singled out for beatings, said Mr Francois, after his captors found pictures on his computer of his brother, who works for the US Air Force.

He said that Mr Foley was subjected to mock executions, including one in which he was ‘crucified against a wall’.

Paying tribute to the American, Mr Francois said: ‘He was an extraordinary guy – a companion in imprisonment who was very agreeable, very solid.’

The man identified as James Foley speaks, giving a message to his family and linking his imminent death to the US government's bombing campaign of IS targets in Iraq

In the video, titled A Message to America, a man who appears to be James Foley is dressed in an orange jumpsuit, kneeling in desert-like terrain beside an armed man dressed in black

Obscene: A video uploaded on Tuesday showed the IS fighter - called 'John' - murdering Mr Foley with a knife

Mr Henin became tearful said the murdered journalist shared his food and blanket.

'JAMES WAS BEATEN MORE BECAUSE HE WAS AMERICAN', SAYS PRISONER CHAINED TO JOURNALIST

Nicolas Henin spent seven months in captivity and was released in April

James Foley was beaten more than any other hostage because he was an American and ISIS knew his brother was in the U.S. Air Force, a fellow prisoner said today.

French journalist Nicolas Henin spent seven months in captivity with the murdered journalist in Syria, including a week handcuffed together.

Mr Henin, who was released in April this year, believes Foley was always seen as 'some kind of scapegoat' by his captors, who were led by his British killer ‘John’ – ringleader of a gang of British jihadis known as ‘The Beatles’ guarding western hostages for ISIS.

'Being an American he was probably more targeted by the kidnappers. Well, he would be beaten a bit more probably, he was some kind of scapegoat. And The kidnappers knew that his brother was in the U.S. Air Force’.

He added: ‘He became the whipping-boy of the jailers but remained unperturbed’.

Speaking about the conditions they were kept in together he said: ‘'The conditions were often quite basic and were sometimes quite difficult.

‘We were in extremely narrow rooms and were taken to the bathroom two to three times a day. For emergencies were had a few bottles and a bucket in the corner’.

Mr Henin paid tribute to his former colleague and friend, saying he had been generous with other captives if they were cold or hungry.

He said he was horrified by Mr Foley's killing, but added that he will focus on positive memories from their time together.

'I will try to just remember few, very few opportunities we had to laugh loud together - and it did happen actually a couple of times,' he said.

When asked why he was released but Mr Foley was not he said: ‘Some countries like America but also like the UK do not negotiate and, well, they put their people at risk.’

He said: 'We spent seven months in a very extreme situation together, including for one week we were handcuffed one to the other day and night.

'In circumstances where you are held captive you develop some kind of survival instincts, meaning that, for instance, you try to grab everything that you can find.

'James was the total opposite. He was so truly generous. Basically everything he could share, he would share it. If we were cold, and we were missing blankets, he would share his blanket.

'If we were starving and missing food, he would share his ration.'

Richard Barrett, who was head of counter-terrorism for the security services at the time of 9/11, said he is convinced the murderer - now considered the world's most wanted man - will be arrested and taken back to Britain for trial 'sooner or later'.

Mr Barratt told the Today Programme: 'They will be able to identify him, although there are four or five hundred people who have gone from all over the United Kingdom many of them have made their presence there known.

'I think the community will be able recognise this person and I am sure many in the community will be keen to do so.

'I mean the intelligence community certainly but also the community from which this man comes, he will have had many acquaintances and friends in the United Kingdom and those people will wish to see him brought to justice.'

He agreed that once he is identified the course of action would likely be to send special forces to grab him.

He added: 'This is probably a relatively young man and he has a relatively long life ahead of him, perhaps, if he doesn’t get killed quickly in Iraq or Syria and therefore sooner or later he is going to be vulnerable to arrest or some sort interdiction and brought before the courts'

'I don’t think anyone is prepared to forget this sort of crime and therefore the long arm of justice will eventually catch him.'

A massive manhunt has been launched after a former hostage said he believed the masked Islamic State maniac was a Londoner he had known as ‘John’.

The security services are also close to establishing the identity of the killer who cut James Foley’s throat in a horrific propaganda video.

Said to be a senior Islamic State operative, he was trusted earlier this year to negotiate a hostage exchange.

Yesterday, further evidence emerged of the prominent role British jihadis are playing in Iraq.

Some celebrated and joked about Mr Foley’s murder, with one woman fighter volunteering to be the next to kill a UK or US captive.

Experts warned Britons are among the most vicious of the Islamic State’s fanatics and one may have been chosen to carry out the killing because of the global impact it would have. In other developments:

The Foreign Secretary again warned British jihadis could return to kill here;

Military chiefs warned of more killings and called for Government action;

Barack Obama said ‘no just God would stand for what the Islamic State did’;

Muslim leaders were accused of failing to sufficiently condemn the terror group;

Mr Cameron admitted it was increasingly likely Mr Foley was killed by a Briton.

The security services are using advanced voice recognition techniques to try to identify the murderer seen in the five-minute IS video, which has been viewed by thousands of people online.

The Briton, who uses his left hand and wears Timberland boots, speaks with what appears to be an East London accent as he makes a series of threats to President Obama and the West.

Yesterday, a man who was held in the Syrian city of Raqqa claimed the fanatic is intelligent, educated and a follower of radical Islamic teachings.

He said international hostages called ‘John’ and his fellow Britons The Beatles because they were from the UK.

Anti-terror investigators are now seeking to establish that the voice in the video is that of the man brandishing the knife before Mr Foley, rather than a voiceover.

HOW ONE IN FOUR FOREIGNERS WHO HAVE SIGNED UP FOR ISIS ARE BRITISH - AND HALF OF THEM ARE ALREADY BACK IN THE UK

At least
one in four of the estimated 2,000 foreigners fighting for ISIS in Syria
and Iraq is British - and half of those are already back in the UK, it
has emerged today.

Serious
questions have been raised as to whether enough is being done to stem
the flow of fighters after the Government revealed it has only seized 23
passports this year to prevent them travelling to the war zone.

The
Government says there are around 500 British among the fighters while a
further 250 are thought to have already returned to the UK where the
police and security services are attempting to watch them.

That
means there are now almost three times as many British Muslims fighting
for Islamic State than there are serving in the UK military, an MP has
claimed.

According
to the Ministry of Defence, there are around 600 British Muslims
currently serving in the Armed Forces - just 0.4 per cent of total
personnel. This is far below the 4.3 per cent of the British population
as a whole who are Muslim.

Irish police also believe that 30 jihadists are using the country as a base while travelling to and from Syria and Iraq.

French journalists Didier Francois (2nd left), Edouard Elias (left), Nicolas Henin (2nd right), and Pierre Torres (right ) who were freed after their government agreed to a ransom

James Foley: Tributes were paid yesterday to the 'courageous, fearless' warzone journalist

The Briton’s role as a negotiator and self-styled executioner shows the extent to which British Muslims have become embedded in IS.

Security boss: Former MI6 chief Richard Barrett says the 'Black Beatle' will be identified and caught if he is not killed in battle

It will also raise questions as to whether enough is being done to stem the flow of UK fighters to Syria and Iraq.

The Government puts the figure at around 500 while a further 250 are thought to have already returned to the UK where the police and security services are attempting to watch them.

David Cameron this morning returned to his family holiday in Cornwall – less than 24 hours after flying back to London for emergency talks over the brutal killing.

The Prime Minister insisted he would continue to monitor the developing crisis in Iraq, but his decision to leave Downing Street will spark controversy. Mr Cameron’s Cornish break is his third holiday this year – and his fifteenth since moving into Downing Street in May 2010.

Mr Cameron is already under mounting pressure to recall Parliament over Britain’s growing involvement in the Iraqi government’s fight against Islamic State terrorists bringing mayhem to the region.

It came as
President Obama's conduct attracted growing criticism after he played
golf immediately after he gave a speech condemning the murder of Mr
Foley.

Four
minutes after leaving the podium Obama teed-off and was seen laughing
with friends and fist-bumping them during a five-hour round at Farm Neck
Golf Course on Martha's Vineyard - his seventh 18-holes in ten days.

Shiraz Maher, of King’s College London’s international centre for the study of radicalisation, told the BBC that British recruits were ‘among some of the most vicious and vociferous fighters who are out there’ and ‘that is unfortunately just a part of their radicalisation’.

Messages written on Twitter by British jihadis before the release of the video appeared to suggest some had prior knowledge of the killing.

Reyaad Khan, 20, a former college student from Cardiff who has been in Syria for several months, tweeted in advance a picture of Mr Foley’s severed head.

Nasser Muthana, 20, who travelled to Syria with Khan and his younger brother Aseel, 17, also revelled in the murder, mocking Americans for failing to protect their own.

CAMERON URGED TO CONFRONT FRANCE OVER CLAIMS IT IS FUNDING ISIS TERROR WITH UNDERHAND RANSOM PAYMENTS

David Cameron has been urged to confront French President Francois Hollande over claims the country is funding ISIS terrorists by paying ransoms to free hostages

By Tom McTague, for MailOnline

David Cameron has been urged to confront French President Francois Hollande over claims the country is funding ISIS terrorists by paying ransoms to free hostages.

Britain and the United States refuse to negotiate with terrorists in an effort not to encourage further hostage taking. But this policy is being undermined by European countries negotiating secret deals to free their citizens.

Four French and three Spanish hostages were released this year after money was delivered through an intermediary, the New York Times reported today.

Kidnapping Europeans has become the main source of revenue for Al Qaeda and its spin off – the Islamic State, an investigation by the newspaper has found.

Together they have allegedly earned at least $125 million – or £75 million – in ransom payments in the past five years alone.

Fears have been raised that European countries’ policy of secretly negotiating with terrorists is undermining the West’s response to the growing threat from ISIS.

Tory MP Andrew Rosindall, who sits on the respected Foreign Affairs Select Committee, said: ‘If they are paying ransoms hey are harming the interests of the free world and by playing the game of terrorism by paying ransom money they are funding and furthering the cause of ISIS and Al Qaeda.

‘The French and the Spanish should really look at themselves in the mirror and ask whether this is the right thing to do.’

‘I think Parliament will be angry – and the British people will be angry. Once again it’s left to Britain and America to stand firm while other countries wobble.

French President Francois Hollande and French Prime Minister Manuel Valls. Four French and three Spanish hostages were released this year after money was delivered through an intermediary, the New York Times reported today

‘The Prime Minister should be raising this with President Hollande. The French are undermining all of us by doing this.’

A Foreign Office source admitted it was a concern for the Government. ‘It is definitely an issue,’ the source said.

‘All you can do is emphasise what we do and why we think it is right. A lot of countries won’t talk about it. Some countries will say one thing and another thing happens.’

But a former senior Cabinet minister told MailOnline that there was no point ‘tweaking the French tail’ because the UK would not get anywhere.

He added: ‘They don’t admit it. It comes out through what other people say. When you see a French President on the tarmac greeting a freed hostage you can be fairly sure they paid.’

His father, retired electrical engineer Ahmed Muthana, 57, of Cardiff, spoke of his disgust at the killing, saying: ‘Any right-thinking human being would condemn this. It is brutal and like something from the Dark Ages.

‘The video should be taken down from the internet where it will drive other Muslims to think of this like some sort of game.’

Academics yesterday voiced major concerns over the continuing circulation of the slickly edited video.

They said the footage could help radicalise British Muslims and ‘motivate’ them to support the terrorists’ cause.

And they warned the video and the use of social media to spread news of the beheading had succeeded in promoting IS’s cause to a global audience.

Rafaello Pantucci, director of international security studies at defence think-tank RUSI, said: ‘When we watch these videos, we are horrified by these sorts of acts and wonder how anyone can look at this with anything other than sheer disgust. But actually it has a motivating effect for others.

‘Some will look at this video and see the heinous act and see that they are a really serious group carrying out acts which are having a huge impact and causing world superpowers to look at them and their cause.

‘It could motivate people because they see they are a strong group making a powerful statement.’

'Entire world was appalled': Barack Obama said that 'no just God' would stand for Mr Foley's murder

Mr Pantucci said IS was ‘very good at harnessing social media to get their message out there and attract more attention.

‘They have demonstrated their ability to manipulate social media to its maximum effect,’ he added.

‘Unfortunately the British participation in the conflicts now raging in both Syria and Iraq has been one of full participation, one that has seen them at the front lines, taking part in the conflict in every way.

'So we have seen British fighters out there operating as suicide bombers, we have seen them operating as executioners.’

President Obama said the US would not back down: ‘Today, the entire world is appalled by the brutal murder of Jim Foley.

‘No just God would stand for what they did yesterday, and for what they do every single day. ISIL speaks for no religion.

'Their victims are overwhelmingly Muslim, and no faith teaches people to massacre innocents.’

Since the video U.S. forces have carried out 14 new strikes on IS targets near the Mosul dam despite the threat that another American hostage would be murdered.

Special forces attempted to rescue Americans - including James Foley - held hostage by ISIS in Syria earlier this summer but failed, it was revealed today.

The mission to save the journalist and others was carried out in early July but was unsuccessful because the hostages - being held by a group of British jihadists known as 'The Beatles' - could not be found.

'This operation involved air and ground components and was focused on a particular captor network within ISIL [also known as ISIS and IS],' the White House said in a statement last night.

'Unfortunately, the mission was not successful because the hostages were not present at the targeted location.'

Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said: ‘We have been saying for a very long time there are significant numbers of British nationals in Syria, increasingly in Iraq.

‘One of the reasons why what is going on in Syria and Iraq is a direct threat to our own national security is the presence of a significant number of our nationals who may, at some stage, seek to come back to the UK with the skills the trade craft that they have learned working with these terrorist organisations and potentially posing a threat to our domestic security here in the UK.

'If the Islamic State, so called, becomes established in an area of Syria and Iraq, it will undoubtedly use it as a base for launching attacks on the West, it will undoubtedly send its fighters out to attack western targets.

‘Equally, if it gets pushed back, some of these people will return to their countries of origin not just the UK. We will see these people going back and carrying on their fight in our own homelands.’

‘I think it’s about 2,000 people,’ he added. ‘I said a couple of months ago about 1,500. I know there are people still going across. There are no effective controls by the UK Border Agency both on exit and return.

‘No one knows what is going on. There is a real threat to the UK. The Border Agency is not fit for purpose.’ Mr Mahmood said two jihadis had travelled to Syria from his own constituency last year but returned and were detained by the authorities.

Among those who appeared to have been inspired by the appalling murder committed by IS was London-born recruit Khadijah Dare, who vowed to become the first woman to kill a UK or US prisoner.

Miss Dare, from Lewisham, was recently pictured with her toddler son holding an AK47 in northern Syria and is married to a Swedish Islamist fighter called Abu Bakr.

Do you know the 'Black Beatle'? Email sean.o'hare [at] mailonline.co.uk

JIHADIS FLOOD TWITTER WITH THEIR VILE JOKES

By Larisa Brown

As details of the horrific beheading swept across the internet, members of the Islamic State posted a flood of sickening messages on Twitter.

The fanatics, who had travelled from Britain and across the world to fight in Iraq and Syria, mercilessly joked about the murder of the innocent American journalist.

If they were not laughing, they were telling of their own desires to commit atrocities of the same barbaric nature.

Taunts: Khadijah Dare with her Swedish husband, IS fighter Abu Bakr

A British jihadist, Nasser Muthana, writing under the name Abul Muthanna, tweeted: ‘So America wants to protect Yazidis from genocide but can’t even protect their own citizens from getting decapitated.’

Fighting in Syria, a London-born woman, Khadijah Dare, used the name Muhajirah fi Sham to write: ‘UK must b shaking up haha. I wna b da 1st UK woman 2 kill a UK or US terrorist!’

A British woman in Syria, using the alias al-Britaniyya, wrote: ‘So the US want to bombard us with airstrikes in Iraq and not give a damn who’s killed but want to cry when a dusty journalist is killed.

‘By Allah we won’t forget our Muslim brothers and sisters who were killed by United States... the blood of a Muslim is not cheap.’

British jihadist Reyaad Khan, from Cardiff, writing under the name Abu Dujana, said: ‘A message from #IS to Obama. Withdraw or chaos will “be-heading” your way.’

A Canadian jihadist, using the name Abu Turaab al-Kanadi, said: ‘Can’t wait for the day #IS beheads the first American soldier :) #SoccerAnyone?’

Following the circulation of the murder footage, he added: ‘I guess it’s time to play soccer boys :)’ – a sick reference to the beheading of Mr Foley.

This was followed by: ‘Seeing these so called “Muslims” send condolences to James Foley’s family is disgusting. No dignity whatsoever...’

Abu Farris, another IS fighter, wrote: ‘The message the state sent to Obama is simple; don’t get involved in our war and we really are not joking. We’re ready like never before..’

Abu Muhammad wrote: ‘Obama statement in short: no negotiation,’ followed by ‘Ha, Obama just wrote the death sentence of the second guy.’

Extremists in the UK also exhibited a shocking lack of humanity.

Anjem Choudary wrote: ‘The presence of US forces in Muslim countries is a cause of instability there & a cause of insecurity back in the US. Hands off Muslim land!’

SPECIAL FORCES VOICE EXPERTS IN HUNT FOR 'LONDON' KILLER

By David Williams, Chief Reporter

Special Forces experts are using voice-recognition techniques to hunt down the British killer of James Foley.

The specialists are urgently trying to identify the man – who speaks with what appears to be a London accent – who beheaded Mr Foley in yesterday’s shocking video.

In the video, the masked killer gives a statement directly to the camera blaming President Barack Obama for the death of the American, who is seen dressed in a Guantanamo-style orange jumpsuit as he kneels in the sand. The man then carries out the beheading, before warning that another American hostage could be next.

Investigators are studying the video to try to establish whether the voice of the Briton delivering the IS statement is definitely that of the man shown in black who carries out the murder.

Security officials said the words may have been edited on to the video and that the man in black said nothing that was heard. Specialists believe the killer may already be on their radar after more than two years of investigations into Britons travelling to Syria and now Iraq.

The voice and tell-tale speech patterns of terror suspects and radicalised Britons – recorded and monitored in Britain and overseas – are stored and held by investigators at the Government’s Communication Centre in Cheltenham.

One clue to the killer’s identity is that he appears to be left-handed, holding the knife in that hand and wearing his rifle on his left shoulder. It is believed the murder took place in Syria where Mr Foley has been held since 2012. The photograph is being studied for possible clues as to the location.

Four French journalists and two Spaniards held for months and freed in April will also be asked if they recognise the voice. One was kept for some of his captivity in the same base as Mr Foley.